You are here

News Archive

The IRS on June 17 issued a third quarter update of its 2018-2019 Priority Guidance Plan. As in such previous such plans, retirement benefits are among the many areas in which the IRS plans to take action. In the update, the IRS also reports on progress in projects it has listed in the plan.The ‘To...
READ MORE

The American Retirement Association, as well as a broad coalition of groups and associations, on June 18 sent a letter to the Senate expressing their support for the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement (SECURE) Act.The House passed the measure on May 23 by an overwheming margin of 417-3. The...
READ MORE

Not wasting any time, the Garden State has announced that it will hold a July 17 hearing in connection with its proposed new fiduciary standards.
According to an announcement in the New Jersey Register, the Bureau of Securities also simultaneously announced that it is extending the comment period...
READ MORE

Nominations are now being accepted for American Retirement Association’s 2020 Board of Directors. Elected at-large members of the Board of Directors serve for one term of three calendar years. Nominees must be nominated by at least two members to be considered.
To view the nomination form, click...
READ MORE

All 403(b) plans require some level of administrative support. Prior to the issuance of the final 403(b) regulations, most ERISA-exempt 403(b) plan sponsors performed some tasks required to establish and support their 403(b) programs and the product providers acted under their respective annuity...
READ MORE

The official hurricane season has just begun (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it starts June 1). But we’ve already had a tropical system in the Atlantic (Andrea) — and that serves as a reminder that it can be helpful to a service provider and plan administrator to prepare…...
READ MORE

Game of Thrones may have wound to a close, but it left plenty to mull over from its eight-season run. In MarketBeat, Nevin Adams writes that the series offered some lessons for retirement amidst the mayhem.
READ MORE

The Department of Labor’s Employee Benefit Security Administration provides material intended to assist plan administrators in selecting a plan auditor. Tech Talk provides a quick look at some of the qualities that a plan auditor should have.
READ MORE

Editor’s Note: This is an occasional feature in the NTSA Advisor. It is drawn from The Source, a book that covers technical, compliance, administrative and marketing aspects of the 403(b) and 457(b) markets. More information about The Source is available here.
Following is a tip concerning...
READ MORE

A new study suggests that employers that focus on the financial well-being of their workers have a significant opportunity to improve employees’ financial health, while also benefiting their business.
Conducted by the Financial Health Network on behalf of Morgan Stanley at Work, the survey of 1,...
READ MORE

Consistent with prior input from the American Retirement Association, New Jersey correctly excluded ERISA plan fiduciaries from the application of its proposed new fiduciary standards.
In a June 14 comment letter, the ARA – parent organization of the ASPPA/NTSA – expressed support for the proposed...
READ MORE

An annual bellwether report on corporate retirement plans finds that the retirement readiness for participants in those plans is brighter due to plan design enhancements and adoption of prudent investing practices.
In fact, the usage of automatic enrollment has tripled since year-end 2007 and has...
READ MORE

A law requiring school districts in Pennsylvania to have multiple financial institutions or pension management organizations for each 403(b) plan they sponsor, as well as investment option providers, will go into effect July 1.
Act No. 5, enacted June 12, 2017, provides new state employees hired...
READ MORE

As summer draws to a close and a new school year starts, the authority of the Texas Teachers Retirement System (TRS) over 403(b) will end.
HB 2820, which Gov. Greg Abbott (R) has signed into law, will change regulatory authority over the 403(b)s offered to public school teachers in Texas,...
READ MORE

The fire and ice of dragons in winter are the stuff of mythology. But even the seemingly commonplace can incorporate a dash of mythology as well; in MarketBeat, John Iekel discusses what a speaker at the recent Plan Sponsor Council of America (PSCA) annual conference outlined concerning myths...
READ MORE

Oregon employers that do not comply with the rules of OregonSaves — the Beaver State’s state-sponsored retirement program — will face penalties starting next year.
Gov. Kate Brown (D) has signed into law SB 164, a measure which provides that an employer found not to be in compliance will face...
READ MORE

Not all broker-dealers and investment advisers are adequately addressing the various security risks in relation to their network storage solutions, which could result in unauthorized access to information stored on the device, according to a new SEC Risk Alert.
During recent examinations, staff...
READ MORE

Following House passage of the bipartisan SECURE Act last month, it looked like the legislation was headed for quick enactment. Since then, however, the realities of the Senate’s legislative process appear to have taken over.
A quick recap from where we last left off: On May 23, the House...
READ MORE

The Department of Labor (DOL) is preparing to act on a variety of issues relevant to retirement plans and participants, according to a department official who offered an outline at a June 5 session of the SPARK national conference held in Falls Church, VA.
Jeanne Klinefelter Wilson, Deputy...
READ MORE

The National Tax-Deferred Savings Association is a non-profit professional society.
The materials contained herein are intended for instruction only and are not a substitute for professional advice. Copyright 2019 by NTSA.